“Are you okay?” I asked.
She pressed her hands against the wall for support. “I need some fresh air. That spinning ride …”
I peered down the next corridor. “There’s only the hall of mirrors left to go. Can you make it?”
She glanced back at Lanz and Ethan, who were a few steps behind us.
“Let’s go,” Eve said. “I don’t want to ruin everyone’s fun.” She stepped into the corridor of seemingly endless mirrors. I followed with the guys close behind, but within seconds, everyone’s reflections fractured into a hundred different ones. I turned a slow circle, sure that I’d be able to pick out which Ethan, Eve, or Lanz was real and which was a mirror image. Every face I saw was distorted—too far away, too close—too squat, too long. Then every face disappeared in the mirrors but my own.
“Hello?” I called out. “Ethan? Lanz?”
No answer came.
I tried to get my bearings, then reached out, but my hands only met cold, hard glass. Suddenly, I felt trapped. I walked faster, bumping into mirrored corners, searching for the exit, and then shrieked when I backed into someone. I spun, colliding foreheads with the stranger.
“Malie,” a familiar voice whispered. “It’s me.” Lanz’s breath was warm against my ear; his hands rested on my waist. I felt an electric zing. “Are you all right?”
“Y-yes.” Lanz’s eyes were so near that I could see the subtle shift his irises made from chestnut centers to oaken rims, light to dark. The mirrors around us blurred into a diamond-white shimmer. I’d wanted to leave the corridor seconds before. Now all I could think of was lingering, just to be near him.
“We thought you were outside already,” Lanz said softly. “I would’ve stayed behind if I’d known. Or Ethan would’ve, I’m sure …”
Ethan. Flustered, I stepped back. “Eve wasn’t feeling well,” I said. “I was with her, but—”
Lanz nodded. “She got lost in the mirrors, too. We all did. But Ethan’s outside with her now, getting her some ginger ale.” He offered me his hand. “Are you ready?”
I nodded, but didn’t take his hand. The same lightning bolt might strike again, and then what? Then … nothing. He was supposed to be with Eve. I was supposed to be with Ethan. That was all there was to it. “Thanks. I’m fine now.”
His hand dropped to his side as a fleeting disappointment crossed his features. But no … it had to be a trick of the light. We left the fun house in silence, but Lanz glanced in my direction every few seconds. I didn’t know if he was making sure I was okay, or if he was trying to puzzle through what I was thinking. Either way, I couldn’t meet his eyes.
We found Ethan and Eve sitting side by side on the beach near the pier, watching the waves break on the moonlit water. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought they were a couple. When Ethan heard us, he leapt up, tripping over his feet to get to me.
“Mal, what happened? We were in the hall of mirrors, and then you were gone.”
I waved a dismissive hand. “Just got turned around in there, that’s all.”
Eve glanced up at me apologetically as she sipped her soda.
“Tilly and Andres are riding the Ferris wheel,” Ethan said. “Eve’s not up for it.”
“I’m sorry, but I need to go home,” Eve said. “My mom’s picking me up. She’ll be waiting in the pier parking lot.”
“I’ll walk you to the car.” Lanz offered her the very hand that mere minutes before he’d offered to me. I felt a pang of jealousy as Eve gratefully slid her hand into his. But, I reminded myself, I already had a boyfriend. A very nice boyfriend.
As Lanz and Eve walked toward the parking lot, Ethan and I watched them go in silence.
“We could catch up with Tilly and Andres,” he offered. “Ride a few more rides?”
But I could tell his heart wasn’t in it. Mine wasn’t, either. How many times had I wished in years past that I could come to this carnival instead of working at it? Now I was here, but this night wasn’t anything like I’d imagined it would be.
“Why don’t you go ahead?” I said to him. “The hall of mirrors did me in, too.” I wanted a break. From the rides and—yes—even though I felt awful admitting it to myself, from Ethan.
Ethan shook his head. “I’ve only got two more days before the convention, and I need to add some final touches to my display.” He hugged me, then brushed my lips in a light kiss. There was no bolt of electricity. The memory of Lanz’s hand on my waist swept my breath away, and I stepped back from Ethan.
“So you’re going home?” he asked.
I hesitated. I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts yet. Not when I couldn’t make sense of them. So I said the first thing that popped into my head, the one thing that I wouldn’t have said in a million years unless I’d been such an emotional mess that I couldn’t see any other solution. “I think I’ll see if Mom needs help at the ice cream booth.”
I glanced at my nightstand clock. It was past eleven, and I couldn’t fall asleep. After I’d helped Mom take down the ice cream booth, we’d come back home and Mom had gone straight to bed. I’d been too wired, so I FaceTimed with Dad. It was late afternoon in Oahu and he was selling his paintings. He held up his latest pieces for me to see, and, when he asked about Once upon a Scoop, I told him that business was booming. Maybe it was out of loyalty to Mom, but I felt the need to tell Dad how great she was doing.
“What about ballet?” he asked. “Are you hanging in there without it?”
My stomach clenched. I wasn’t a daughter who snuck behind my
